The Mae O’Driscoll Scholarship was established by the Board of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center to recognize her singular contribution to the Irish American community.

Mae O’Driscoll was born in Lisheen, Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland. She was educated at the local National School and the Convent of Mercy in Skibbereen. In 1958 she immigrated to New York and worked in the Banking and Travel Industries. She continued her education at Brooklyn College where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting. After twenty eight years of service Mae recently retired from J. P. Morgan & Company where she was an Assistant Vice President.

Mae has been active in the Irish American community since her arrival in New York. Whether it was in organizing a benefit for a worthy cause or walking a picket line in support of Civil Rights, Mae could always be counted among the most actively involved. Mae’s care and concern once again manifested itself in the 1980s when thousands of undocumented Irish immigrants flocked to our shores. In response to the crisis situation facing these immigrants, the Irish Immigration Reform Movement (IIRM) was founded at the Cork Association meeting in May 1987. Mae is a charter member and served as Chairperson of the New York State Branch. The IIRM successfully lobbied for comprehensive immigration reform. As a result of their dedicated efforts the “Immigration Act of 1990” was passed into law providing thousands of visas for the Irish through the “Morrison Visa” program. Mae is also a founding member of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center, a fully staffed Immigrant Advice Center, with offices in Woodside, Queens and Woodlawn, in the Bronx. Mae has encouraged many to pursue education to college level as she did herself. She continues to serve the Irish immigrant community in her work as Director and Trustee of the EIIC.

Mae resides in Brooklyn and is a member of Good Shepherd Parish.

The Mae O’Driscoll Scholarship was established by the Board of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center with funds contributed by friends of Mae to recognize her singular contribution to the Irish American community and particularly Irish immigrants to New York. The “inaugural” scholarship awards will be in the amounts of $500, $300 and $200 to provide financial aid for higher education to an immigrant or the son or daughter or grandson/granddaughter of an immigrant to the US.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Applicants must be Qualifying immigrants (individuals who have migrated to the US from another country), or, children and grandchildren of such immigrants, who are enrolled in an accredited US post-secondary educational facility.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

(Please read carefully)

All submissions will be accepted via email only.

The email address to send your submission to: scholarship@eiic.org

Place use the following subject line: Mae O’Driscoll Scholarship

Details of the 2015-2016 Scholarship are pending, please check back for further details. Information on the Scholarship will also be posted on the Emerald Isle Immigration Center facebook page, please follow our page to receive details of new postings.

REQUIREMENTS

Your requirements are both an essay (as specified below) and the answers to these questions:

1) Your Name
2) Your Address
3) Your Phone Number
4) Why do you qualify to apply for this scholarship? (See section above: Who can apply?; please specify if you are a qualifying immigrant, or the child or grandchild of a qualifying immigrant.)
5) Depending on your answer to Question 4, what year did you, your parent or your grandparent immigrate to the US, and what was the country of origin?
6)What is the highest level of education you have obtained thus far?
7) Where will you be enrolled for the upcoming Spring semester?

ESSAY: We would like to know something about your educational background and/or work history, your post secondary college plans and your long term career goals. Please provide us with an essay (1000–1500 words or 3–5 pages) that discusses your life as a learner and the way that the Mae O’Driscoll Scholarship would help you to realize that future.

Place your answers to our questions in the body of your email response, and attach your essay in one of the following two formats only:

Microsoft Word, or as a PDF

Note: an incomplete application (i.e. an incomplete set of answers to our questions, and/or an essay which doesn’t meet our guidelines) will be rejected.

In 2007, the Board of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center honored Mae at their annual Dinner Dance. Additionally at the event and in recognition of her singular contributions to the organization, the Board announced as a surprise to Mae that a living Scholarship had been established in her name. So far over $20,000 has been raised to support the Mae O’Driscoll Scholarship Award and a committee has been established to continue to raise funds for it, in addition to reviewing and monitoring the scholarship awards annually.